Listen, dear one, to the wisdom that has been revealed. Among all beings, it is the wise who, even without assistance, reach the fulfillment of their purpose, while the unwise, though they may seem to achieve their goal, ultimately let it slip away. Therefore, just as one carefully waters and protects a tender vine for the sake of its fruit, so should one nurture wisdom through the study of sacred scriptures and the company of noble souls. The tree of virtuous action, whose mighty root is the strength of wisdom, bears its supremely sweet fruit in due season—just as the full moon shines in its completeness. Indeed, the same energy people expend in seeking external objects should first be devoted to cultivating wisdom. For dullness of understanding is the very boundary of suffering, the storehouse of misfortune, and the seed from which the tree of worldly existence grows; this must be abandoned. Know, O wise one, that everything attained—whether from the heavens, the netherworld, or the heights of sovereignty—arises from the treasury of wisdom. It is wisdom alone that ferries one across the dreadful ocean of worldly existence, not rituals, not pilgrimages, nor austerities, O Raghava. All the divine prosperity that people enjoy on earth is but the sweet fruit of the blossoming vine of wisdom. By the power of wisdom, even lions whose claws have been cut and whose blood is drunk by jackals are conquered by those very jackals, just as deer fall to lions. Through wisdom, men of humble birth have ascended to kingship, for here, only the wise are seen as fit for heaven or liberation. Those who speak with discernment, delighting in their own contemplations, shine forth among people like the radiant sun outshining the roar of the ocean. This discernment, dwelling in the heart of the wise, is like a wish-fulfilling gem, granting whatever is contemplated, just as the wish-fulfilling vine yields its fruit. The noble one crosses the ocean of saṃsāra by discernment, while the inferior is cast aside; the instructed reach the far shore, but the uninstructed perish, like a boat that founders. Rightly directed understanding leads one to safety, but wrongly guided, it brings calamity—just as a boat on the ocean can carry one across or to ruin. Faults may arise in multitudes, like a shower of arrows, but they do not trouble the discerning, undeluded wise person, just as arrows cannot harm one well-armored. By discernment, O dear one, the entire world is truly seen; for one who perceives rightly, neither misfortune nor fortune can approach. The dark covering of the inert self, spread as the cloud of ego, veils the supreme sun within; but this cloud is torn apart by the wind of discernment. For one who seeks the incomparable state, the mind must first be carefully cultivated, just as a farmer prepares the earth before seeking his harvest. In this way, O Rama, by reflecting upon the Self with the Self, as Janaka did, you too will soon attain the state known to the wise. For those wise ones, even those born in royal families of the West, have attained the highest good for themselves, just as Janaka did. One should strive again and again to conquer the enemies called the senses, until the Self, by its own power, finds satisfaction in itself. When the all-pervading Lord, the Supreme Self, is pleased and self-revealed, all sorrowful perceptions are destroyed. The seeds of delusion and the showers of calamity, the false perceptions, all come to an end upon beholding That which is both higher and lower. Always, O Rama, like Janaka, with a mind free from all undertakings, perceiving the Self through wisdom, you will become prosperous and excellent. For one who is ever engaged in inquiry and observes the restless world, as Janaka did, the Self in time becomes peaceful by itself. Neither fate, nor actions, nor wealth, nor relatives can offer refuge to those who fear worldly existence; only one’s own effort is the true support. Those who rely solely on fate, absorbed in endless alternatives of action, possess dull understanding and should not be followed, for their path leads to ruin. By firmly relying on discernment, perceiving the Self by the Self, one should cross the ocean of worldly existence with the intellect uplifted by dispassion. This, O Rama, is the attainment of knowledge that brings happiness; it falls like a fruit from the sky and destroys the tree of ignorance. Just as in Janaka, who possessed noble understanding, so too in the wise, the embodied being naturally unfolds, like a lotus blossoming at dawn. The mind, when its thoughts are tranquil, dissolves through inquiry, just as frost melts away in sunlight, losing its color, form, and touch. When the notion of “I am this” fades away in the night of ignorance, the all-pervading, radiant light of one’s own true nature arises of itself. As the contraction of “I am this” dissolves, an expansive awareness arises, pervading infinite worlds. Just as Janaka abandoned the tendencies of ego, so too, O wise one, after thorough inquiry, you should renounce them within yourself. When the cloud of ego has cleared from the pure, stainless sky of consciousness, the supreme sun, shining with its own light, becomes manifest. Darkness is nothing but the cultivation of the sense of “I”; when that subsides, illumination arises. When it is realized, “I am not, nor is there another, nor is there nonexistence,” the mind attains tranquility and is no longer ensnared by things to be acquired. O Rama, know that the mind’s pursuit of what is to be acquired and avoidance of what is to be rejected—this alone is bondage, nothing else. Do not become distressed over what is to be rejected, nor be attached to what is to be acquired. Abandoning both acceptance and rejection, remain established in what remains, and you will attain well-being. Those whose attitude is, “this is to be acquired, this is to be rejected,” are dissolved; they neither desire nor renounce anything here, unlike others. Thus, the wise, established in discernment, shine forth in the world, free from bondage, resting in the peace of their own true nature.